


Always Better

by Keepcalmandflatline



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-07 19:08:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6820525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keepcalmandflatline/pseuds/Keepcalmandflatline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Val used to work for hydra along side the Winter Solider, and when Bucky got out so did she. Considering they're both extremely powerful and well trained, (She has the ability to turn her skin into vibranium for long periods of time) Val doubted they ever actually got out of the assassin lifestyle. And now they have a Civil War to fight.</p><p>Basically scenes from civil war with reader in it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please go easy on me, this is my first work. Please comment and tell me what you think about the different point of views. Hope you like it.

It was a pretty average day, most people in the market were laughing or smiling and it rubbed off on the two ex-assassins. Val couldn't help her cheesy grin when Bucky grabbed her hand as they crossed the road.  
It was so strange to feel this way. To smile for no reason and to blush from eye-contact alone. Sure, her and Bucky had good days, they had been together for a very long time now, but she never felt the way she did right now. Or if she did feel this way it was only during symbolic moments in their relationship, not because he glanced her way. 

Val was beginning to feel like a school girl and she hated it.

Bucky must have noticed a change in her mood, because he turned around and snickered at the look on her face. "What?" She asked bumping her shoulder into his. The only response she got was a tighter grip on her hand and a small smirk.

They had just reached a fruit stand when Val felt someone watching her. When she turned, Val noticed it was the same man who had attempted to follow her home one night. After that incident a few weeks ago, Bucky never let her out of his sight, even though she was trained to be a better fighter than himself.  
Bucky never liked it when Val got attention, which was something that happened quite a lot in this small city. It didn't surprise him, Val was extremely beautiful. That doesn't mean he ever warmed up to the idea of some creep panting down her neck. 

Bucky and Val both snapped out of their hazes when the man behind the stand began talking to them. Bucky was the only one who knew their language, (part of the reason Val didn't go out without him) so Val just pointed to the stuff she wanted and Bucky began asking prices. His left hand never left hers and they were both smiling. They would laugh if they made eye-contact, even if just for a few seconds.  
They felt and probably looked like lovesick teenagers, but who cares? Bucky felt he and Val deserved at least some happiness. 

They had just bought some plums and were waiting to cross the street, when Bucky noticed the man behind the kiosk staring and reaching for his phone. The smile slipped from his face and just like that, he went back into hiding from whoever might want to find him. Val had noticed the man too, and was annoyed and slightly relieved the puppy love feelings had disappeared. She didn't know how to handle them and was more comfortable with the relationship they had for a long time.  
They crossed the road and the man ran. Val snatched the thing he was holding, a newspaper and showed Bucky the headline.

Val couldn't read the language, but saw the words WINTER SOLDIER and EXPERIMENT 626 with a picture of what looked like them. Judging Bucky's expression, it wasn't good. 

He tightened his grip again, now beginning to almost hurt as he led her back to the small apartment they shared. On the way there Val made the observation that the man with metal wings was circling the building and that Captain America was most likely not to far behind. Bucky had visibly tensed, and they quietly entered the apartment through the fire escape.

Bucky made sure Val was behind him as they found the Captain in their living room/bedroom/kitchen. Upon seeing the two super soldiers, Val realized just how small the place is. She knew Captain Rodger's relationship with Bucky and she wasn't quite sure how this would go. 

"You know me?" The man asked.

Val remembered watching Bucky pull him out of the water. 

"You're Steve. I read about you in a museum." Bucky had yet to relax his shoulders. Val stepped out from behind him and made eye-contact with Steve. He smiled for a second when he realized his friend had not been alone while going through this.

"I know you're nervous and you have plenty of reason to be, but you're lying." Steve looked at Val again, almost asking her to step in. So she did.

"We weren't in Vienna, we don't do that anymore." Val had gotten tired of Bucky shielding her from him, and she took a few steps forward. She almost got in front of Bucky, but a metal hand laid on her hip, stopping her in place. 

Captain's radio crackled again and the Falcon warned about approaching Special Forces.

"Well the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you two alive."  
Bucky and Val looked at each other in silence. 

"That's smart. Good strategy." Bucky said. 

Val could hear footsteps in the stairwell.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight." Steve warned. 

"It always ends in a fight." Bucky said. He figured very powerful people were coming after them. He gently kissed Val's forehead, in case he might not get a chance to later.

Steve was getting frustrated, "You pulled me from the river. Why?" His voice was raising as the special forces got closer.

"I don't know."  
"Yes you do."  
Suddenly the man on the radio was shouting "Breach! Breach!"  
A grenade crashed through the window, Steve covering it with his shield to stop the blast. Special forces burst through the door. Another grenade was thrown, this time aimed for Bucky and I. Bucky grabbed a corner of our mattress and blocked the blast. Men started barging in through the window. Buck was right, it does always end in a fight. 

I felt my mutation kick in and i slammed my now-vibranium fist into the man in front of me. I backed up against Bucky and began fighting the next soldier. A man was blocking the window closest to us and Bucky kicked his chest while Captain held open the door. 

Val's POV 

"Bucky! Val! Stop! You're going to kill somebody."  
Bucky grabbed my hand as I turned back to Steve. "We're not going to kill anyone." I let go of bucky and pinned Steve to the floor. Most of my body was now vibranium, making it impossible for him to push me off. I slammed through the floor to get the bag we had packed in case of emergences. Bucky tossed it out the window onto the rooftop next to us. He stood behind the shield and I blocked bullets with my vibranium chest. It now completely coated my body, leaving me bulletproof. 

Bucky took out the first solder as we made our way to the hallway. They were shooting the hinges and I assumed there was a man standing to the right of the door. I slammed my fist through the drywall, hitting the soldier with a shotgun. Bucky used the door as a ram and we fought the soldiers as we went down the stairs. I had been wearing a jacket and spandex shorts to the market today and I realized I hated the feeling of my vibranium skin against the cheap fabric. I ripped the jacket off, knowing I had a sports bra underneath. I felt a lot better, and I began fighting better. 

The vibranium had completely coated my body from head to toe. I could never explain my mutation or how I could see when the vibranium coated my eyes or even why it was vibranium. I've had this ability since I was about 10 and it's changed my life ever since.  
I remember showing off my abilities to the kids next door when a man came up to me. He said he was a doctor who had ways of making me better. He said if I came with him I could be much more powerful and I could be home in time for dinner. 

That was the last time I saw my parents and my older brother. I don't remember much about them, but I will always remember my mother's face kissing me goodbye as I left to go play with the kids. That was how I got into Hydra and how I met Bucky.  
Speak of the devil, we had just cleared the soldiers on our floor when I saw more filing up the stairs. Bucky grabbed my waist and we jumped through the opening between the stairs. After passing multiple floors, Bucky grabbed a railing with his left arm to stop us. 

I pulled him onto the floor and kicked down the door to our left. We got a running start and ran through the open balcony, landing on the rooftop. Bucky grabbed the backpack he had thrown earlier and we ran. I noticed a shadow behind us and saw a man in a black cat-like suit tackle Bucky. They toppled to the ground and I watched as the other man extended his claws. I reconized the metal in his suit as vibranium.  
He and Bucky began fighting and once the other man had Bucky pinned I tackled him to the gorund. I grabbed Bucky's upper arm and pulled him to the side of the building. The other man slid down the side of the building with his claws, chasing after us. I still had a grip on Bucky's arm, so I pulled him down with me and began running. 

We were coming up on a traffic bridge and Bucky pulled me through the gap onto the highway below. We had to stop and turn around in the other direction, then quickly try to build up speed. Both Captain America and the cat were following us. I turned and saw Steve driving a car with the cat man ontop. The falcon joined in the tunnel.  
A man on a motorcycle was coming right for us and I remembered a move Bucky and I used to do. I climmed onto his back as he grabbed the handle of the motorcycle. He spun around, using the momentum of the bike and slung our bodies onto it. As we were speeding through the second tunnel I noticed the Cat was catching up. He lunged for us, but I grabbed his throat, holding him against the wall.

Bucky began to swerve and before exiting the tunnel he threw a grenade at the concrete. Bucky and I rolled on the ground as we became surrounded by police. A man in a suit similar to iron man's put his hands up, pointed at us.  
"Stand down now." He commanded.  
I looked to Bucky and realized we weren't fighting anymore. I let my vibranium switch back into skin as I got to my knees.  
"Congratulations Cap, you're a criminal."


	2. Chapter 2

“Congratulations cap, you’re a criminal.” I watched as Bucky was roughly grabbed by the Special Forces. The man in the vibranium suit took off his helmet and I had to give it to him, he wasn't ugly. The Iron Man-lookalike turned towards him and addressed him as royalty. He didn't respond however, just stood there flicking his glare over me then back onto Bucky. I felt Special Forces pull me to my feet and restrain my wrists. They led me to what looked like an armored van, sitting next to the Falcon in the backrow, with Captain Rodgers and the royal in front of us. Special Forces had forced Bucky into a mobile cell with metal restraints in the back of a separate truck. 

For a while, no one spoke, until Falcon turned to me. “Last time I saw you we didn’t exactly get to exchange formalities. I’m Sam Wilson.” He looked as if he were about to shake my hand before he remembered I was handcuffed. 

I wanted to laugh at the thin metal holding my arms back. I wondered, if Special Forces knew I could snap these restraints like they were toothpicks, would they put me in a cell like Bucky’s?  
“My name is Valeriyarvara. You can call me Val.” I smiled slightly. I turned to the man in the black suit. “Who are you?” He didn’t turn around to look at me, he simply tilted his head and said, “I have no words for the lover of a murderer.” I recognized his accent as African and I thought of the bombing at the United Nations meeting. That, his obvious distaste for Bucky and I, and Iron man 2.0 referring to him as royalty, I figured he had some connection to the African King Bucky and I were framed for killing. 

“Bucky didn’t kill anyone.” I couldn’t help the cold tone in my voice. He made a noise that sounded like a scoff. Again, we fell into tense silence. 

“So,” Sam said, obviously not a fan of awkward silences, “you like cats?” I smirked as the Captain immediately reprehended him. 

“What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat you don’t want to know more?” 

Steve ignored him and asked the African royal if his suit was vibranium. Again avoiding meeting eye-contact, his head turned slightly. “Vibranium is a very strong and valuable material.” He looked as if he were about to expand on that, when I cut him off. "Yeah, I've heard of it."  
He paused, then began speaking again. “The black panther has been a protector of Wakanda for generations.”

So he was a panther, not a kitty-cat. Got it. “A mantle passed from warrior to warrior. Now because your friend murdered my father, I wear the mantle of a king.” So I was right, this man was T'challa, the new king of Wakanda. “So I ask you as both warrior and king. How long do you think you can keep him safe from me?”  
I felt my jaw lock in place as I looked out at the huge building where we were going to be dropped off at. I wanted to defend Bucky and I, but I knew he wouldn't listen. The loss of his father made him blind to see how Bucky and I were set up. It also didn't help that I had no evidence whatsoever that we weren't involved. 

We pulled into a garage and Steve held my upper arm gently, to guide me out of the car. To our right, Bucky’s cell slid out of the truck. I looked over, but Bucky wouldn’t meet my eyes. 

Steve turned the other way and Sam and I followed him to the man, woman and security team waiting. The three guards surrounded me and grabbed my arms roughly. “What’s going to happen?” Steve asked, obviously not happy about the situation. “The same thing that should happen to you. For Barnes? Psychological evaluation and extradition. For Her? Just questioning. For now.” He warned.  


“Everett ross,” The blonde woman spoke, introducing the short man, “He’s deputy task force commander.”  
“What about a lawyer?” Steve asked. “A lawyer. That's funny.” The man said with a sarcastic smile. “See to it their weapons are placed in lockup.” He ordered the woman. He nodded to the guards surrounding me, and they began dragging me towards a door way. “We’ll write you a receipt.” He promised Wilson and Rodgers. “I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that.” 

The guards had almost reached a small metal door when familiar redhead holding a small duffle bag stopped them. “There’s no real evidence she took part in the bombings, only Barnes. They saw a pretty girl and jumped to conclusions. She’ll come with me.” Natasha didn’t wait for approval before nodding her head at me. I figured this meant no more handcuffs, so I let my wrists shift into vibranium and easily snapped them off, much to the surprise of the guards. Natasha smiled, but I couldn’t force myself to return it.  


“Follow me.” She slowly dropped the smile and began to lead me to an elevator. She held out the bag in her hands, and I noticed a combat suit similar to hers in it, along with a pair of large boots. "We didn't have any civilian clothes for you, but I figured anything is better than that." She turned slightly to give me privacy, but I knew there were cameras in the elevator, so there was really no point. I slid off the spandex shorts and slipped into the suit. I left my sports bra and underwear on underneath and shoved my shorts and sneakers into the bag. The elevator doors opened as I was tightening the laces on the large boots. "Look, what happened between us-" I cut her off by shoving her against the elevator wall. "Don't." I warned. I dropped her and left the elevator to catch up with Steve, Sam, and T'challa.  


Ross didn’t look happy about me being free, but he definitely wasn’t going to counter Natasha. I glanced over at her, still slightly aggravated she thought she could just give a half-assed apology and we would start braiding each other’s hair and gossiping about boys.  
We entered a room full of people busing themselves with computers or monitors. Tony stark stood in the center of it all talking on the phone. I felt a hand grab my wrist and stop me from entering any farther. “You should be arrested.” T’challa said threateningly. “You should be declawed,” I let my fingers turn to vibranium as I grabbed his knuckles and slowly began to crush them. “Vibranium can really hurt someone.” I smirked and released his hand. 

“Consequences? You bet there will be consequences.” Stark turned towards the group. “Of course you can quote me on that I just said it.” He hung up the phone and walked towards us. We made eye contact and he furrowed his eyebrows, watching me carefully.  
“Consequences?” Steve asked, catching Tony's attention. “Secretary Ross wants you all prosecuted.”

Men passed by carrying Steve's shield and Sam's wings. “I’m not getting that shield back am I?” Steve asked. “Technically, it’s the government’s property. Wings too.” Natasha smirked. She and Stark began walking towards the back of the room.  
“That’s cold.” Sam said. “Better than jail.” Tony said over his shoulder. “Hey Steve, you wanna see something cool?” I looked at Steve and he jerked his head towards the door. Sam and I got the hint and we left the room.  
“So what’s the deal with you and Barnes?” He smirked, nudging my shoulder. I smiled slightly at the man, kind of amazed that he acted as if we were best friends in such an intense situation. We talked for a few minutes when suddenly Tony left the room after both men raising their voices.  
Stark joined Natasha in front of the monitors, and we joined Cap in the center room.

Steve, Sam and I stood in the center room watching the series of monitors focused on Bucky. The sound was turned off, seeing as none of us had the access to turn it on. I could see a man join Bucky in the room. Bucky kept his head held high. I vaguely noticed the blonde woman from earlier hand Sam a piece of paper and briefly discuss it. The monitor in our room suddenly turned on, and we could hear it. I turned back and noticed she had activated it for us. I nodded in thanks and she returned it. “Sharon.” She said. “Val.”  
I turned back to the screen as Steve picked up some of the files on the table. “I’m just going to ask you a few questions.” The doctor said. There was a camera in the cell and I paid close attention to Bucky’s facial expressions. “Do you know where you are James?” He asked. Bucky looked extremely tense. “I can’t help you if you don’t help me.”  
“My name is Bucky.” He said. I glanced over at Steve’s face to gauge his reaction. His face was stoic, but I could see the hope in his eyes.  
“Why would the task force release these pictures of the bombing at the U.N.?” Steve dropped the pictures back onto the table. I could see why they believed Bucky did it and that I had something to do with it. A man who looked exactly like Bucky had a hood pulled over his head, leaving the scene of the crime. In the second picture, a woman who looked just like me was jumping into the driver seat of an unmarked van. Pretty convenient pictures for them. “I don’t know, to get the word out?” Sharon said. “Catch them as fast as we can?”  
“Right,” Steve said, “Good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. You got seven million people looking for the Winter Soldier and his girlfriend.”  
Sam had a small smirk when Steve confirmed Bucky and I were, in fact, dating. Or doing whatever two ex-assassins can call dating. “You’re saying someone framed them to find them.” Sharon said, glancing at me. Sam had lost his joking mood. “Steve, we looked for the guy for two years, we couldn’t find him.”  


“Well we didn’t bomb the U.N. That turns a lot of heads.” Steve was still defensive. Rightfully so, considering Bucky and I were eating lunch when this happened. “This doesn’t guarantee that anyone who framed him would get him.” Sharon countered. “But it does guarantee that you’d get him.” I said turning back to watch the doctor.

I watched the doctor pull something out of his bag when I thought I caught a glimpse of something familiar. I felt my heartrate spike as I quickly looked over all the monitors to tell if I was being paranoid or not. “Tell me Bucky, you’ve seen a great deal, haven’t you?” I heard the doctor ask. Steve noticed I was frantically searching the monitors for something. “What’s wrong?” Sam asked. I ignored him, glancing back to watch Bucky’s reaction. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Bucky said. “You feel as if, you open your mouth, the horrors will not stop coming out.” He said. 

I began searching the monitors again. “Val what’s going on.” Steve asked, sounding slightly panicked. Again, I couldn’t answer. I found myself praying I was being paranoid and that this doctor wasn’t going to pull out that little red book. “Don’t worry,” He said, tapping his computer, “We only have to talk about one.” One of the cameras pointed at the perfect angle so I could see what was peeking out of his bag. I was right. That little red book was hidden under a few papers. 

“Where is he?” I shouted, catching the attention of even Stark and Romanoff, from outside the glass center room. “I need to get to him before-“, suddenly, the power went out. The backup generators came back on, but all cameras on Bucky were disabled.  
Sharon turned to me, panicked. “Sublevel five, east wing.” I ran out of the room and up the stairs to get to Bucky before the ‘doctor’ could use his trigger words. Steve and Sam were right behind me as I went up the stairs as fast as I could. 

Bucky didn’t need to tell me about the book, or what the words did. I was there when they were implanted. He did, however, warn me over and over, how if those words were ever used that I had to get out immediately, to avoid him hurting me or even using my trigger words. Obviously, I wasn’t going to abandon him at a time like this. I got to the floor he was on with Steve and Sam a few flights of stairs below me. “It’s not safe Val!” I ignored Steve and entered the room anyways. I wanted to tell myself Bucky had control, but my subconscious betrayed me and I felt my skin shift, my fear triggering my mutation. I passed by all the guards on the floor. The cell door had been broken, and the doctor lay on the floor. He looked up. “Grab her.” He commanded in Russian. I felt a metal arm wrap around my throat. “Sputnik.” He whispered in my ear. I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head and I dropped into his arms.  
*Third person pov* 

The Winter Soldier had used Val’s trigger word, causing her to fall unconscious. “Hide. Ambush the soldiers when they arrive.” He put her down against the wall gently. He remembered doing countless missions with this soldier, but other than that, he felt nothing. He waited and watched as the two soldiers entered the room. Steve and Sam passed through the room and began searching for Val or Bucky. Steve went to the man asking for help. “Get up.” Steve ordered, before grabbing the man and pushing him against the wall. “What do you want?” Steve asked. “To see an empire fall.”

Bucky jumped at Sam and they didn’t fight long. Bucky quickly grabbed his neck and threw him into the floor hard. Bucky threw punches at Steve but he managed to block most of them. Bucky finally had Steve pinned to the elevator, then quickly used his bionic arm to push Steve through the metal doors, down the elevator shaft. He picked up the woman and carried her over his shoulder and began walking through the rest of the 5th level to get to the helicopter as he was ordered. He saw the incoming soldiers and set the woman down again.  


He was ambushed by Iron Man, Black Widow, Agent 13 and even the Black Panther and yet he managed to escape the fight unscathed. He tossed the girl over his shoulder again and quickly made his way to the roof. He was climbing the stairs when he was stopped again by T'challa. They fought as Bucky held the girl in one arm and fought with the other. T’challa ended up throwing him over the stairs, yet when he reached the bottom Bucky was nowhere to be found. 

On the roof however, Bucky had just finished buckling himself and the woman in to the helicopter when Steve began running after the helicopter. Bucky began pulling it away from the rooftop when Steve latched onto both the helicopter and the pipe around the helipad. He began pulling the helicopter towards the building, and Bucky realized he could use that as an advantage. He smashed the helicopter into the landing pad, Steve running to avoid the blades. As the helicopter came to a stop, Bucky broke through the glass and began choking Steve. The weight was too much and the helicopter fell into the water.  
Seconds later Steve struggled to rise out of the water with both Bucky and Val in tow.

*Val's POV*  
I heard someone gently cough out my trigger word, an suddenly I was consious. I slowly sat up, cold from the cenent floor. Why were my clothes wet? I saw Bucky with his arm locked into a press and Sam and Steve standing off to the side. At first I was confused as to why Bucky was being held back, then I remembered how his trigger words had been used. "Explain your trigger, Val." Steve ordered. I stood up, shaking slightly. I saw Bucky's arm flex and I realized he must want to help me up. I put my hand on his shoulder to both help my balance and calm Bucky.  
"Whenever someone uses it, I fall unconsious and I don't wake up until its used again."  
Bucky's face looked grim, as he looked up at me. "I told him Val." He sounded so tired. "About the other Winter Soldiers."

**Author's Note:**

> So this was my first work and I'll do more and hopefully get better. I want to do a story with someone that has these powers later on. Let me know if I should keep going. 
> 
> P.S. she's gonna call him the cat man for the rest of this story lol.


End file.
